1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to worksite monitoring and, specifically, to the use of motion sensors in conjunction with analysis devices for measurement of worker productivity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Construction is a $500 billon dollar global industry involved in the fabrication and maintenance of infrastructure around the globe. Examples of such infrastructure projects may include buildings, roadways, industrial plants, mining, forestry and public utilities. Typically, operators at a worksite employ construction vehicles to perform construction tasks. These operators are directly overseen by an on-site construction manager, who in turn reports to other managers involved in the project, such as project managers, design engineers, and/or project architects who may be located remotely or on-site.
Maintaining high worker productivity is an important part of keeping costs and time to completion of projects within budget. The cost of labor, fuel and maintenance of construction vehicles comprise a significant fraction of the budget of a construction project. If vehicles or construction personnel fail to perform work efficiently, budget targets may quickly be exceeded. Thus, in order to stay within allotted budgets, supervisors typically monitor the work and progress of employees. Furthermore, reports are often prepared to communicate status and progress to managers who are remote from the worksite.
Oversight can prove difficult to implement, however. In one example, a worksite may possess a high ratio of workers to supervisors and/or be spread out over a wide geographic area. These circumstances dilute the ability of supervisors to monitor employees effectively and the associated costs limit the feasibility increasing the supervisor to machine operator ratio. In another example, reports may be generated at periodic times to report progress, identify problems, and propose solutions. However, owing to the time and effort necessary to generate the reports, little information may be available in the interim. Thus, a manager or supervisor may be unaware if changes are necessary during this time. Furthermore, in light of lax oversight, workers may be tempted to “moonlight,” performing unauthorized work projects for payment. This work diverts resources away from the contracted project, contributing to inefficiencies which may adversely impact budgets.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for systems and methods for measuring the productivity of workers, particularly in the construction industry.